Phone call for Joe Wilson !

Zimbabwe to sell uranium to Iran

Zimbabwe is to defy United Nations sanctions in a deal to sell uranium to Iran Simbarashe Mumbengegwi, Zimbabwe’s foreign minister, said the sanctions – which prohibit member states from providing Iran with raw materials that it could use to make a nuclear weapon – were unfair and hypocritical.

He said that Zimbabwe, which is also the subject of sanctions over human rights abuses perpetrated by President Robert Mugabe’s supporters, would benefit economically from the agreement.

A leaked intelligence report suggests Iran will be awarded with exclusive access to Zimbabwe’s uranium in return for providing the country with fuel.

The report – compiled by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog – said Iran’s Foreign and Co-operative Ministers had visited Zimbabwe to strike a deal, and sent engineers to assess uranium deposits.

Out of my league, and yours ...OT

Since I have no class … and this is a definition of class, grace (literally), classic style, elegance, and human beauty …

OUT
OF
MY
LEAGUE

How can you be a human male and not want to just kiss the back of Grace Kelly’s neck?

And inhale

HEY! Alexander! How Much Did You Pay This Dame To Do This?

Gateway Pundit:

Shock Admission: “Gaddafi Is Jewish and I’m His Cousin” (Video)
Posted by Jim Hoft on Monday, March 7, 2011, 11:55 AM

Yup… He’s done.
An Israeli woman announced this week that, “Gaddafi is Jewish and I’m his cousin.”

Israel National News reported:

There have been rumors in the past about Libyan leader Moammar Qaddafi’s Jewish roots, and now it seems to be confirmed. Israel National News TV met with Gita Boaron, who claims that the Libyan dictator is indeed Jewish and that she is a distant cousin.

“Qaddafi’s grandmother is my grandmother’s sister,” explained Boaron. “His grandmother is my father’s grandmother. She was Jewish, became Muslim and married the town sheikh. She had children and he’s her grandson so he’s considered Jewish because his mother was born to a Jewish mother. So it means he’s Jewish.”

Boaron, who heard the story about Qaddafi’s Jewish roots from her mother as she was growing up, said that her family has never even considered getting closer to Qaddafi, since “There’s no place like Israel,” as she put it.

She noted that it is only recently that Qaddafi has really become anti-Jewish.

“He always loved the Jews and didn’t do anything bad to them,” she said. “The moment he started to speak against the Jews, I said: ‘Just wait. He’ll get what’s coming to him.’ Two weeks later the protests started there.”

She described the current situation in the Arab world as “chaos. One eats the other. May they eat one another and not us.”

The Foreign Aid We Dish Out

From Reaganite Republican's post "US Taxpayer-Funded Foreign Aid Received by 150/192 Countries in the World!":



Look at the map again (Click directly on the image to enlarge it):


Think about it:

That's us dishing-out an allowance to
over 78% of the nations in existence...

As you compute your taxes this year, remember how much of your hard-earned money is being given to foreign countries.

FOOD SACRIFICED TO IDOLS A.K.A. HALAL FOOD

I have been wanting to write an article on the issue of eating Halal food for a long time but haven't really gotten around to doing it. However, recently Pastorius posted an excerpt from an article that was published on Jihad Watch. I was really happy that someone else had written an article about this whole thing and so I wouldn't have to do it. But then Epa commented and my hopes of being lazy were shattered. Pastorius summarized Epa's comment as follows:

"Who gives a crap? It's only food."

However, this is what Epa actually said:

“Halal OR Kosher for that fact are manifestations of 'what you have to do to safely eat meat/fish in a low/no tech desert or warm environment'”

Well, he said more (you can follow the link and read the whole thing) but this is what prompted me to pick up my pen (keyboard) and start writing this lengthy article.

I will first deal with whether Halal food is just like Kosher, a way for us to eat safe, clean food in a desert or warm environment or is it a ritualistic way of slaughtering meat in Islam, hence “food sacrificed to idols”, in the section “HALAL MEAT: ISLAM'S WAY OF SACRIFICING FOOD TO AN IDOL”. Then I will deal with whether Christians and Jews are to eat food sacrificed to idols or not in the section “BIBLICAL REASONS FOR NOT EATING FOOD SACRIFICED TO IDOLS”. And lastly, I will deal with why people in the West should boycott Halal meat for political purposes and not just for religious in the section “POLITICAL REASONS FOR BOYCOTTING HALAL MEAT ALONG WITH ANY OTHER PRODUCT PRODUCED IN ISLAM OR BY MUSLIMS”. Let us begin!

HALAL MEAT: ISLAM'S WAY OF SACRIFICING FOOD TO AN IDOL

This section should not take me long. The only thing I want to address here is Epa's comment. I am proposing that Halal is not just a way to eat clean meat (fish does not have to go through any religious sacrifice or prayer, Muslims can eat it right out of the water) but an offer and a thanks to Allah for providing the meat. Here is what the process entails.

Apart from making sure that the animal (or bird) has no blemishes and your knife is sharp, you have to lay down the animal and make sure it faces Makkah (Mecca). Then you have to say “Bismillah-e-Allah-u-akbar”, which means, literally, “In the name of Allah, Allah is greater”. And that's when you make a sharp cut in the animal's throat (without severing it completely) and let the blood drain. That completes the slaughtering part. Then you skin it and cook it, just like anybody else would do.

This sacrifice is Haram (not acceptable) if it is not done properly: if there was a blemish in the animal, if the animal didn't face Mecca, if Allah’s name was not recited and if the whole procedure was done by someone who is not a pious Muslim (a pious Muslim is one who offers prayers to Allah 5 times a day, pays Zaka', fasts during Ramadan, goes for Hajj at least once in his lifetime if he has the means to do so and most importantly, says the Shahadah, that is, “La-ilaha-ilAllah-e-Muhammad-ur-Rasul-Allah”, which means, “There is no god but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet/apostle/messenger).

What concerns me is not the facing of Mecca (as to me that is a joke), neither the blemishes (because I would rather eat an animal without any blemishes than one with some) but the part about invoking the name of Allah and it is that part that the Quran specifically tells Muslims to follow. Rest of it has been added through the Hadiths and later traditions (as far I know).

The Quran talks about invoking Allah's name in the following ways.

Sura 2. Verse 173: He hath only forbidden you dead meat, and blood and the flesh of swine, and that on which any other name hath been invoked besides that of Allah.

Sura 5. Verse 4: They ask thee what is lawful to them (as food): say: Lawful unto you are (all) things good and pure: and what ye have taught your trained hunting animals (to catch) in the manner directed to you by Allah; eat what they catch for you, but pronounce the name of Allah over it: and fear Allah; for Allah is swift in taking account.

This is the stuff that matters the most to me. I can not, and I will not, eat anything that is sacrificed in the name of an idol and Allah is nothing other than an old Meccan idol, there is no doubt about that.

This concludes the discussion about whether Halal (which just means “acceptable”) meat has been sacrificed to an idol, namely Allah, or not. To me the above verses leave no doubt about it at all. I am sorry Epa but this does not sound to me like a way to keep meat clean in the desert climate of the Middle East.

Now onto Biblical reasons as to why we shouldn't eat meat sacrificed to idols.

BIBLICAL REASONS FOR NOT EATING FOOD SACRIFICED TO IDOLS

I have been avoiding food sacrificed to idols for the last couple of years now. My primary reason for not eating food sacrificed to idols is simple: Biblical. However, my secondary reason is political. So this discussion should cater to both Christians/Jews and atheists/agnostics/theists. I will first start with the religious significances.

I know there is always a lot of debate amongst Christians whether this rule applies to us in this modern day and age. Many actually don't even think that there is any religion any more that sacrifices food to its god/gods so there isn't any food out there that can be labeled as “food-sacrificed-to-idols”. If we, as Christians, are ever to venture into the matter of idolatry committed through food that is sacrificed to idols, we should ask what the Bible has to say about it.

I am going to start with Paul, who is everyone's favorite when it comes to food sacrificed to idols. Before I begin, however, I just want to say that I have my reservations about Paul. Where sometimes he sounds like the smartest guy in the world, at other times he sounds like someone that has no idea at all what God said about a certain issue (I realize that it is quite possible that I have misunderstood Paul here, but so far I haven't heard a plausible argument to prove my misunderstanding). One of those issues is food sacrificed to idols.

Let's see what he has to say:

1 Corinthians 8:1 Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that “We all possess knowledge.” But knowledge puffs up while love builds up. 2 Those who think they know something do not yet know as they ought to know. 3 But whoever loves God is known by God. 4 So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that “An idol is nothing at all in the world” and that “There is no God but one.” 5 For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”), 6 yet for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom all things came and for whom we live; and there is but one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom all things came and through whom we live.7 But not everyone possesses this knowledge. Some people are still so accustomed to idols that when they eat sacrificial food they think of it as having been sacrificed to a god, and since their conscience is weak, it is defiled. 8 But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.9 Be careful, however, that the exercise of your rights does not become a stumbling block to the weak. 10 For if someone with a weak conscience sees you, with all your knowledge, eating in an idol’s temple, won’t that person be emboldened to eat what is sacrificed to idols? 11 So this weak brother or sister, for whom Christ died, is destroyed by your knowledge. 12 When you sin against them in this way and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. 13 Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

I highlighted the things that I think are related to the discussion at hand. (I just have a side-question: What the heck were the believers doing in an idol's temple in the first place?) Where I disagree with Paul is this. It is God who cares about food sacrificed to idols, it is not about someone's sensibilities. Read the following:

Deuteronomy 32: 15 But Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked; you grew fat, stout, and sleek; then he forsook God who made him and scoffed at the Rock of his salvation. 16 They stirred him to jealousy with strange gods; with abominations they provoked him to anger. 17 They sacrificed to demons that were no gods, to gods they had never known, to new gods that had come recently, whom your fathers had never dreaded. 18You were unmindful of the Rock that bore you, and you forgot the God who gave you birth.

Revelation 2: 13 I know where you dwell, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you hold fast my name, and you did not deny my faith even in the days of Antipas my faithful witness, who was killed among you, where Satan dwells. 14 But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. 15 So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans. 16 Therefore repent. If not, I will come to you soon and war against them with the sword of my mouth. 20 But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols. 21 I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her sexual immorality. 22 Behold, I will throw her onto a sickbed, and those who commit adultery with her I will throw into great tribulation, unless they repent of her works, 23 and I will strike her children dead.

Now, as far as idols being no gods but demons or nothing, I agree with Paul as that is what God seems to be saying too. However, where I don't agree with him is when he seemingly makes it all sound like, “we should care about idols only in case someone is offended by it”, as if that was the only thing that mattered here, which, as we have seen above, is clearly not the case. So, either Paul is wrong here or he is just misunderstood; I am hoping it is the latter (I would really appreciate plausible explanations to this passage in case I am wrong). Now that I have made my viewpoint on this popular passage from Paul clear (hopefully), let us see what the Church was told about food sacrificed to idols (apart from the verses from Revelation).

Acts 15: 22 Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, 23 with the following letter: "The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. 24 Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions, 25 it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, 26 men who have risked their lives for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."

As we can see clearly, the Apostles didn't think it was their decision, rather that it was from the Holy Spirit. Another reference goes as follows:

Acts 21: 25 As for the Gentile believers, we have written to them our decision that they should abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality.”

I don't know whether what I have pasted here is sufficient evidence for it or not but it is enough for me to be convinced that I am to stay away from food sacrificed to idols.

My case stands more for the Christians. The reason there isn't a lot on food sacrificed to idols in the Tanakh is that the Israelites were told not to even deal with the idolaters around them. In fact, they were told to annihilate them once they conquered their land to avoid any idolatry within Israel. They weren’t even allowed to speak out the name of any other god.

This is it for the religious part of this discussion. I will post the section “POLITICAL REASONS FOR BOYCOTTING HALAL MEAT ALONGWITH ANY OTHER PRODUCT PRODUCED IN ISLAM OR BY MUSLIMS” later as this is already getting way too long for a blog post.

The Blaze:

Incredible New Video: See the 9/11 Attacks From an NYPD Chopper

• Posted on March 7, 2011 at 7:26am by Jonathon M. Seidl

It’s not “home video” as much as “homeland video.”

Shocking, newly-released NYPD video shows the terrorist attacks of 9/11 as seen from a police helicopter. The 17-minute video was captured from high above Lower Manhattan and features the raw reaction of officers within the helicopter cabin.

“I’m not sure I can do it justice, except to say that it‘s among the most transfixing 17 minutes of video I’ve ever seen,” Gawker’s Max Read writes.

According to that site, the clip was originally obtained by the National Institute of Standards and Technology under the Freedom of Information Act for its 9/11 investigation. The video was then anonymously sent to the secret-sharing site Cryptome:

The video’s YouTube description describes some more:

The chopper sound at the spliced end may be a carry over from a longer video. This video was a part of material provided by NYPD to NIST for the WTC investigation. Previous releases of NYPD material consist of a variety of packages, with redundancies, different namings and overlaps. To answer FOIA requests NIST digs through a vast collection to chop out a requested piece.

The Second Amendment Of Our Bill of Right IS My Concealed Weapons Permit

The New American:

Wyoming Adopts “Constitutional Carry” of Firearms
Written by James Heiser
Friday, 04 March 2011 09:18

An important step was taken yesterday in Wyoming toward restoring the constitutionally protected right of Americans to keep and bear arms, as that state became the second in less than a year to enact legislation affirming the right of its citizens to carry a concealed firearm without a special government-issued license. Following adoption in the state Senate, the vote of the House in the Wyoming legislature approved the bill by a vote of 48–8 several weeks ago, and Gov. Matt Mead signed it into law on March 3.

The right to carry a concealed firearm without a special license issued by the state is often referred to as “constitutional carry.” Wyoming is now the fourth state in the Union that recognizes constitutional carry, joining Alaska, Arizona, and Vermont. Prior to Wyoming’s action, Arizona was the most recent state to adopt constitutional carry; Governor Jan Brewer signed the legislation in April of last year, and it went into effect a few months later, on July 29.

It appears that the trend toward “constitutional carry” is likely to continue, with several states weighing adoption of measures similar to that which became law today in Wyoming. An article from the Associate Press declares that “Similar bills are pending in states including Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Utah. A bill has been introduced in Kentucky but hasn’t advanced while another was introduced for discussion in Idaho.”

In the aftermath of the Tucson tragedy, organizations opposed to Second Amendment-defined rights attempted to exploit the deaths and injuries that occurred when Jared Loughner allegedly attempted to murder Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) However, the fumbling efforts of Pima County Sheriff Clarence Dupnik to politicize the tragedy appears to have backfired on the gun control lobby: rather than scaring the populace into surrendering more of their rights for the illusion of security, January 2011 gun sales surged 9.7 percent over the same month the previous year—an increase which builds on a trend in gun purchases since November 2008.

Undoubtedly, there are several factors are behind the movement at this time to restore more of the constitutionally recognized right to keep and bear arms to the people of the United States. Economics and a greater perceived need to be responsible for one’s own defense are among those factors. In the words of the AP article:

The push to expand permit-free carry of concealed guns is coming from people demanding the freedom to protect themselves in tough economic times without the requirement to pay for state permits, National Rifle Association spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said.
“It’s an organic movement,” Arulanandam said. “I think certainly we are leading the charge — I’m not hiding behind it. A lot of this is organic in the sense that it comes from people realizing that when something bad happens, it’s up to them to defend themselves and their loved ones. And when something bad happens, instant responders are better than ‘first responders.’”

Another factor in the push to expand the right of self-defense in the direction of the liberty enumerated in the Bill of Rights is the sense that many Americans have that their liberties have been steadily eroded for many years. The same concerns that animated Tea Party activists and other constitutional conservatives are active in the movement for constitutional carry. People who neglect the exercise of their constitutional rights may soon find those rights have been usurped by the State. First in Arizona and now in Wyoming, the people are pushing back.

================================

A Golden Oldie to go with the article:

The violent islamo-fascist counter-revolution in Egypt has begin

From the Astute Bloggers:

Pro-democracy activists in Egypt have been attacked by men in plain clothes, armed with knives, outside the interior ministry in Cairo, reports say.

It is the first such attack since the fall of Hosni Mubarak last month.

This is just the beginning of the violent islamo-fascist effort to hijack the revolution.

The Essence of Marxism

"Why do you have a right to your money?"

The above quotations is 28 seconds in during the confrontation between a Tea Partier and a union member:

In which I agree with the Obama Admin: IT IS NOT TERRORISM

This naive admin has been loathe to use the word terrorism at all, and has avoided it to the exclusion of reality.

However in discussing the ‘events’ around Nidal Hassan, Fazi, this Kosovar moron in Germany the admin is correct that they should be hesitating about using the moniker of terrorism.

The RED ARMY FACTION were terrorists.

Shining Path are terrorists.

Timothy Mcveigh - TERRORIST

Hassan, Arid U., Najibullah Zazi, KSM, ….

IT IS JIHAD

Now we have to ask ourselves, why is our govt not TALKING ABOUT THAT POSSIBILITY?

It’s only debate.

Cinder and Smoke

From the band Iron and Wine

Day by Day

Muslims Busted In Los Angeles For Attempted Forced Marriage Of Their 13 Year Old Daughter

Wikileaks, the Conspiracy Theorist, and the new anti-Semitic Myth of World Power

Last week WikiLeaks’ former “no. 2″ Daniel Domscheit-Berg said that Julian Assange, the organization’s chairman, “sought out” Israel Shamir for collaboration. Shamir, A Russian Jew who converted to Christianity, is best known as an anti-Semitic/anti-Zionist conspiracy theorist, and author of numerous articles and several books in this genre. According to Domscheit-Berg, Assange had read Shamir’s works and found them “compelling.”

A statement on Shamir’s website claimed that he “is NOR [sic] a member, NEITHER an employee of Wikileaks: he is a freelance writer covering the Cablegate for the Russian media.” Cablegate, a play on the so-called “Irangate” scandal, refers to the leaking, and the subsequent Wikileaks’ publishing, of tens of thousands of classified US diplomatic cables.

In the abstract, Shamir seems a highly unlikely figure to seek out for collaboration on such a project. An anti-Zionist conference, held by MAUP in the Ukraine, was attended by Shamir, former KKK leader David Duke, and others in this field of study. Hardly surprising, Shamir is highly praised by David Duke, although he also has friends on the far-Left of the political spectrum, most notably… 

Read More.

Islamonazism Photo of The Day

Islamonazism Photo of The Day

From Eye on the World: 

Lebanese Hezbollah militants gesture as they visit the grave of Hezbollah commander Imad Mughnieh (C-portrait), who was killed in a car bombing in the Syrian capital Damascus in 2008, during a ceremony commemorating the 3rd anniversary of his assassination in southern Beirut on February 13, 2011. (Getty Images)

Ana Vidovic
Asturias
(Isaac Albeniz)

Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor

NOT performed on the instrument for which the piece was composed (with thanks to Warren, who emailed me the link to the video):

It looks like Bill Cosby sold out

I found an interview on The Root, a politically correct site, from around the time Katie Couric suggested maybe there needs to be a Muslim version of the Cosby Show, and lo and behold, who would've thought Bill Cosby himself, once a man I admired, would sell out?

The actor, comedian and author called up The Root to set us straight about why the idea could actually work.

Bill Cosby was listening when Katie Couric suggested last year that a "Muslim Cosby Show" could help combat Islamophobia in America, and he agreed. After all, didn't the series prove to a lot of people that (surprise!) black people had families, careers, senses of humor and ugly sweaters, just like the rest of America?

Well I guess he didn't read what Big Hollywood wrote about why the whole notion would not work. It's not whether Muslims are rich or poor, have careers or not. It's whether the religion, in and of itself, recognizes the legitimacy of other races, religions and cultures, and whether it calls for persecuting them, not to mention whether it actually respects how women wish to run their lives.

For me, this is devastating to discover that Cosby, one of the pioneer black American TV stars, would aid someone as stupid as Couric. And while we're at it, funny how nobody's ever suggested a sitcom starring Armenians, Portuguese, Bulgarians, Finnish, Ghanians, Romanians or Estonians. Don't they have anything great to bring to the table?

The Ultimate Wobbly. Fat Bastard Speaks

Michael Moore in Madison yesterday.

"I have nothing more than a high school education."

That's evident. And no doubt lacking in history classes.

"Let's start a National Revolution against the rich."

Will your head be first on the block? Please?



h/t Gateway Pundit

update

The Full Speech, if so inclined

Bloomberg:

Saudi Government Says Demonstrations, Marches Prohibited by Kingdom's Laws

By Glen Carey -
Mar 5, 2011 10:53 AM ET

Saudi Arabia’s Interior Ministry said that demonstrations, marches and sit-ins are “strictly” prohibited under the kingdom’s laws, the Saudi Press Agency said, citing an unidentified official at the Interior Ministry

Protests “contradict” Islam and the values of society, the Riyadh-based news service cited the official as saying. They harm public interest, infringe on the rights of others, spread “chaos” and lead to bloodshed, the official said.

Public demonstrations are usually prohibited in Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest oil exporter and an absolute monarchy ruled by six kings since it was established in 1932. Websites have called for a nationwide “Day of Rage” on March 11 and March 20 in Saudi Arabia, according to Human Rights Watch.

Other Middle Eastern governments have been the target of a wave of protests this year, inspired by the popular uprisings that forced out the leaders of Tunisia and Egypt. In Bahrain, home to the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet, mainly Shiite protesters are demanding free elections and a constitutional monarchy.

Bahrain, like Saudi Arabia, has a Shiite community that complains of discrimination by Sunni rulers. The Saudi Shiites make up about 10 to 15 percent of the population.

Shiite Protests

Shiite Muslims in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia held two demonstrations on March 3 to call for the release of prisoners. About 100 people staged the first protest in the Shiite Muslim village of Awwamiya in the kingdom’s Eastern Province. A similar number of people later demonstrated in the city of Qatif under strong police presence.

A third demonstration, demanding the release of Sheikh Tawfiq al-Amir, was held yesterday in al-Hofuf in the Eastern Province, according to Tawfiq al-Saif, a prominent Shiite activist from the eastern region, and a second activist, who declined to be identified for security reasons. Al-Amir, a Shiite Muslim cleric, was arrested on Feb. 27 after he called for a constitutional monarchy and equal rights, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on its website.

More than 100 activists, writers and academics warned King Abdullah of “the prevalence of corruption and nepotism” and the “widening gap between state and society,” according to an e-mailed copy of their petition statement on Feb. 27. They called on the king to move the country towards a constitutional monarch.

Awwamiya, a village north of Qatif on the kingdom’s Persian Gulf, was the scene of much larger demonstrations in 2009 after police sought to arrest Shiite cleric Nimr al-Nimr, who had said in a sermon that Saudi Shiites may be able to seek a state of their own in the future.

Pounding My Head Against The Wall

Fox:

U.N. Hypocrisy On Full Display
By Anne Bayefsky
Published March 04, 2011

Today, Iran officially becomes a member of the U.N. Commission on the Status of Women. Only three days ago, the U.N. General Assembly voted to suspend Libya’s membership on the U.N. Human Rights Council in a desperate bid to save the Council’s tattered reputation and itself.

But not a single state, including the United States, has indicated anything but smooth sailing for today’s membership of Iran on the U.N.’s top women’s rights body.

The double-talk surrounding the Libyan maneuver was breathtaking. It was only nine months ago, after getting to know Qaddafi over four decades, that the General Assembly had elected Libya to serve on the U.N.’s top human rights body. And Libya still serves on the U.N. Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, the U.N. Commission on Information, and the Executive Board of U.N. Women.

The U.N. has no intention of really cleaning house, since there would be no baby left with the bath water. Here is just a glimpse of the authority figures that the UN system currently has in place to run its global operations on human rights, women’s equality, protection of children and refugees, free flow of information, social and democratic development and crime prevention.

U.N. Human Rights Council

Mission: "…responsible for promoting universal respect for the protection of all human rights and fundamental freedoms for all….”

Members: Saudi Arabia, China, Vice-Presidents: Cuba, Angola

U.N. Commission on the Status of Women

Mission: “…set global standards and formulate concrete policies to promote gender equality and advancement of women worldwide."

Members: The Democratic Republic of Congo, Iran

U.N. Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice

Mission: “…set…out global strategy to prevent crime and promote stable criminal justice systems...and improving the efficiency and fairness of criminal justice administration systems."

Members: Libya, Russia, Sudan, Iran, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Pakistan

U.N. Women

Mission: “…support, address and contribute to gender equality and the empowerment and the advancement of women…”
Members: Executive Board: Libya, Saudi Arabia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, China

U.N. Economic and Social Council

Mission: “…responsible for: promoting higher standards of living, full employment, and economic and social progress…encouraging universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms…"

Members: Saudi Arabia

U.N. Commission on Sustainable Development

Mission: "...to promote dialogue and build partnerships for sustainable development with major groups include[ing] women, youth, indigenous peoples, non-governmental organizations, local authorities, workers and trade unions, business and industry, the scientific community, and farmers…"

Members: Angola, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia

U.N. Commission on Social Development

Mission: “….promoting full employment and decent work for all...Improving public sector effectiveness....National and international cooperation for social development..."

Members: Cuba, Egypt, Zimbabwe

U.N. Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations

Mission: “…The consideration of applications for consultative status [with the UN]…submitted by NGOs…”

Members: Sudan, Cuba, Pakistan, China

U.N. Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT)

Mission: “…promote socially and environmentally sustainable towns and cities with the goal of providing adequate shelter for all…security of tenure and equal access to economic resources for all, with a specific focus on gender equality.”

Members: Governing Council: Iran

U.N. Committee on Information

Mission: “To promote the establishment of a new, more just and more effective world information and communication order…based on the free circulation and wider and better-balanced dissemination of information…”

Members: China, Libya, Kazakhstan, Iran

U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF)

Mission: “….advocate for the protection of children's rights, to help meet their basic needs and to expand their opportunities to reach their full potential…”

Members: Executive Board: Sudan, China

U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees

Mission: “…safeguard the rights and well-being of refugees.”

Members: Executive Committee: Lebanon, Somalia, Sudan

U.N. World Food Programme

Mission: “advocate policies, strategies and operations that directly benefit the poor and hungry."
Members: Executive Board: Sudan

Anne Bayefsky is a Senior Fellow at the Hudson Institute and director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust.

A Song of Great Social and Political Import

texas pushes back against TSA thuggery

Texas Legislation Proposes Felony Charges for TSA Agents

Written by: Michael Maharrey

cross-posted from the Texas Tenth Amendment Center

Rep. David Simpson (R-Longview) introduced a package of bills into the Texas House of Representatives on Tuesday that would challenge the TSA’s authority in a number of ways. The first bill, HB 1938, prohibits full body scanning equipment in any Texas airport and provides for criminal and civil penalties on any airport operator who installs the equipment. The second bill, HB 1937, criminalizes touching without consent and searches without probable cause.

HB 1938 reads in part:

(b) An airport operator may not allow body imaging scanning equipment to be installed or operated in any airport in this state.

(c) An airport operator commits an offense if the operator fails to comply with Subsection (b).

(d) An airport operator who commits an offense under Subsection (c) is subject to a civil penalty in an amount not to exceed $1,000 for each day of the violation.

HB 1937 includes the following:

(3) as part of a search performed to grant access to a publicly accessible building or form of transportation, intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly:

(A) searches another person without probable cause to believe the person committed an offense; and

(B) touches the anus, sexual organ, or breasts of the other person, including touching through clothing, or touches the other person in a manner that would be offensive to a reasonable person.

(f) …. An offense under Subsection (a)(3) is a state jail felony.

Both bills empower the Texas Attorney General to bring suit in court.

The TSA will likely challenge such a law, but the Texas legislature stands on solid ground. Local governments control airports and no enumerated power in the Constitution gives the federal government the authority to regulate them. Under the Tenth Amendment, airport operation falls under state jurisdiction.

TSA regulations allow for passengers to refuse the body scans, but they must instead submit to an intrusive full-body pat down. This package addresses both issues. The HB 1938 legislation addresses the physical installation of full-body scans, and HB 1937 addresses the problematic constitutional issues of TSA security screening procedures. Random full-body scans and pat downs in the absence of probable cause arguably violates the Fourth Amendment.

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated…

Summertime

Janis Joplin Live

Weather Report
Seventh Arrow/Umbrellas

Glenn Miller
American Patrol

The Harmonious Interests of Mad Max

But there are those few who don't have the same bourgeois values. Post-bourgeois, we might say. Road Warriors, to push the point. Those who are as savage as the savage; as pitiless as the aristocratic; as mad as Max. What possible advantage is there in such madness? The bourgeois shakes his head and offers money and a place to count it within the sphere of normal. Rejecting bourgeois values for those post, one is seen as "Just as bad as they are!" The bourgeois is angered and incensed by the betrayal of the rational man who rejects the bourgeois value of passivity in the face of violence. The man post-bourgeois is a a traitor, "No better than they are!" Not a man to build and lay up and save and store, the mad man is alone. One cannot deal with him as a moral being. He is a betrayer of bourgeois values. Where is the harmony of interests? Reject. We cannot trade with such a man. What does he want? Nothing.

Max: "I'm just here for the gasoline."

http://nodhimmitude.blogspot.com/2011/03/harmonious-interests-of-mad-max.html

Should Christians And Jews Eat Halal Meat?

Roland Shirk, from Jihad Watch, has a very good point here:

Why should Christians care if they're eating halal meat? Predictably, cultural masochists and stealth jihadists will insist that such a concern is the fruit of "Islamophobia" and bigotry. I'm hardly the most ecumenical Christian in the world, but the only reaction I've ever had to eating a kosher hot dog has been to think "Oh good. This probably doesn't have so much junk in it." But the more I've learned of Islam, the harder it has been for me to buy those tasty-looking shish-kebabs that are offered from carts by hard-working (and no doubt peaceful) Muslims in New York City. Why is that?

For one thing, halal meat is slaughtered to the accompaniment of ritual prayers to Allah—and the more I learn about how Islam depicts him, the less I can conceive of him as in any way the same God worshiped by Christians and Jews. Instead, he seems to me a wicked idol, which would make the meat that was slaughtered in his name the one thing St. Paul forbade Christians to eat: Meat offered to an idol (1 Corinthians, 8:7).

Go read the whole thing.

Epaminondas raised a in important point, which can be summed up like this,

"Who gives a crap? It's only food."

And verily, it is true that God is not a fool. He does not concern himself with random and petty rules. He is concerned with the heart, and He would like that we prepare our hearts to help one another, so that when help is needed, we do, indeed, help one another out of a true sense of Gratitude to Him for the strength, Light, and Love we have in our own lives.

So, let's look at the larger context of the verse:

Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience, ²⁶ for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”^[f]
 27 If an unbeliever invites you to a meal and you want to go, eat whatever is put before you without raising questions of conscience.

²⁸ But if someone says to you, “This has been offered in sacrifice,” then do not eat it, both for the sake of the one who told you and for the sake of conscience. ²⁹

I am referring to the other person’s conscience, not yours. For why is my freedom being judged by another’s conscience?

³⁰ If I take part in the meal with thankfulness, why am I denounced because of something I thank God for?

Egypt: 4000 Muslims chanting "Allahu akbar" torch church, attack Christian homes

"The father of the Muslim woman was killed by his cousin because he did not kill his daughter to preserve the family's honor, which led the woman's brother to avenge the death of his father by killing the cousin. The village Muslims blamed the Christians."

Just think about that paragraph, in all its various parts, for awhile.

"Nearly 4000 Muslims Attack Christian Homes in Egypt, Torch Church," by Mary Abdelmassih for AINA, March 5:

(AINA) -- A mob of nearly four thousand Muslims has attacked Coptic homes this evening in the village of Soul, Atfif in Helwan Governorate, 30 kilometers from Cairo, and torched the Church of St. Mina and St. George. There are conflicting reports about the whereabouts of the Church pastor Father Yosha and three deacons who were at church; some say they died in the fire and some say they are being held captive by the Muslims inside the church.

Sweden: Politician not guilty of "agitation against an ethnic group" for nude Muhammad poster

The freedom of speech survives, for now, in Sweden. Do you think Carl P. Herslow would have been put on trial for a poster mocking Jesus Christ?
"Politician on trial for nude Muhammad poster," from The Local, March 3:

A Swedish politician facing charges for producing a poster depicting the Muslim prophet Muhammad naked together with his nine-year-old wife was found not guilty by a jury in Malmö on Wednesday.

Carl P Herslow, leader of the Skåne Party (Skånepartiet), a small right-wing populist regional party, is charged with agitation against an ethnic group (hets mot folkgrupp).

The poster included the text: 'He is 53 and she is nine. Is this the kind of wedding we want to see in Skåne?'.
Herslow admits producing the poster but contested the charges. He said the aim of the poster was to stimulate a debate about Islam, which he argued was incompatible with democracy and equality.

Go read the whole thing.

Eroica Trio
Brahms Piano Trio No. 1, Op. 8

Bond
Korobushka

Fars:

Commander Warns US against Military Intervention in Libya

TEHRAN (FNA)- Chief of Staff of Iran's Armed Forces Major General Hassan Firouzabadi warned the US officials of the fatal consequences and aftermaths of Washington's military intervention in Libya.

"Any kind of US measure and interference in Libya will not only stabilize Islamic Revolutions in the region and further clarify their path and direction, but also cause a severe blow to the US economy and increase their (Americans') debts and budget deficit," Firouzabadi cautioned in his remarks on Saturday.

He dismissed the Washington and Pentagon officials' explicit hints about an imminent US military intervention in Libya, and said, "The Libyan people have risen and shown that they can liberate their country and they are much different from the Iraqi and the Afghan people."

The top military official noted that the capitalist system is seeking to develop its strategies in the wealthy and Muslim states which possess abundant oil wells and resources, and mentioned, "The reality is that the US wants to stage a military intervention to find control over Libya's oil wells as it did in Iraq with the Iraqi oil."

The US has said it is closely monitoring the situation in Libya and is in constant touch with its allies like NATO on possible actions against the Gaddafi regime, as it dispatched two military aircrafts to the region.

The Pentagon, which has dispatched considerable air and naval assets to the region along with 400 marines, said it is closely monitoring the situation in Libya.

He said the Pentagon is in constant contact with its other allies, including NATO and Europe.

"We are still with options on the table. The overall operation is called Operation Odyssey Dawn," Lapan said.

You're not allowed to talk about what's happening in your country,

Fox News:

Ex-Rep, 'Gopher' Leaves Radio Show After Pressure Over Islam Comments
By Judson Berger
Published March 5 2011

AP

Fred Grandy, the former "Love Boat" star who served several terms in Congress before landing a gig as a radio host, resigned from his show this week after he was pressured to stop talking so much about radical Islam, his wife, Catherine, told FoxNews.com.

Catherine Mann-Grandy, who spoke with FoxNews.com extensively about the details of their split with WMAL management, confirmed that the couple's critical commentary on radical Islam was the driving factor behind Grandy's resignation.

"You're not allowed to talk about what's happening in your country," she said.

Fred Grandy, best known for his role as Gopher in "The Love Boat," had been on air as a host at Washington, D.C.'s WMAL since 2003. He worked most recently as host of "The Grandy Group" -- his wife made regular appearances on that show under the nickname "Mrs. Fred."

But while both of them started devoting more and more segments to the subject of Muslim influence in America over the past year, it was Catherine's comments that apparently led to an ultimatum.

Mann-Grandy, who did a regular segment called "domestic terrorism 101," hit a string of topics on their show last Friday. Though the segment was taken off the radio's site, she described it. She said that, on air, she quoted a rabbi who compared radical Muslims to Nazis, complained that President Obama was not doing enough to help Israel, warned that "Shariah-compliant" individuals work in the government and discussed several other Islam-related topics.

Perhaps sensing she might have stepped over a line, she warned on air about the possibility that she might not return the following week.

Sure enough, she didn't.

Mann-Grandy said her husband told her Tuesday that management told him she could no longer be on the show. Further, she said her husband was told to "really tone it down on the Islam stuff."

In response, Fred Grandy resigned.

Though he was not able to discuss his departure in detail for legal reasons, Fred Grandy also confirmed to FoxNews.com "it was my decision."

A representative with WMAL could not be reached for comment.

WMAL issued a brief statement about Grandy this week, saying the former Iowa congressman "has informed WMAL of his intention to resign from the station and its morning program, 'The Grandy Group.'"

"WMAL remains committed to its goal of providing a forum for discussing a broad spectrum of issues while delivering compelling programming," the statement said.

The sudden departure immediately triggered rumors that the Council on American Islamic Relations, the country's largest Muslim advocacy group, was somehow involved -- a charge CAIR denied. Mann-Grandy said she thinks that's what happened, though she doesn't have evidence.

"That is just my gut instinct," she said. Fred Grandy said he had "no conclusive evidence."

WMAL, which carries several programs featuring conservative pundits, dumped host Michael Graham several years ago following comments he made about Islam and a subsequent campaign against the station's advertisers by CAIR.

James Lafferty, chariman of the Virginia Anti-Shariah Task Force, accused WMAL of becoming "the first Shariah-compliant radio station in America."

Reached for comment, Lafferty said the host was told to tone it down and keep his wife off the program.

CAIR spokesman Ibrahim Hooper attributed the charges against his group to the "extreme anti-Muslim blogosphere."

"That claim is as credible as any other claim these hate mongers make," he told FoxNews.com. "They make it up out of whole cloth."

Hooper said CAIR had not even made any complaints to the station about Grandy.

The Washington Post reported that Grandy's ratings had also been trailing those of other right-leaning hosts.

But Lafferty alleged that WMAL caved to pressure. The group called on listeners to call the station Monday and Tuesday to demand Grandy and his wife return to the show.

Mann-Grandy, claiming she and her husband have gotten hundreds of e-mails of support, said she doesn't think they'll be asked to return but suggested she'd go back on air.

"I would be happy if someone else did that segment ... but nobody's doing it," she said.